Arlys
Feminine
The ending on Arlys looks Welsh and in this name it is not. Gladys and Glenys carry it because the Welsh names behind them do; this one arrived at the same three letters from an American ear, with no Welsh anywhere in its history.
How old is the name Arlys?
Arlys first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Arlys alive today was born around 1938, making them about 87 years old. About 500 people named Arlys are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Arlys most popular?
Arlys peaked in 1934, reaching #1047 nationally. See the whole 1934 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Arlys
Endings carry an accent the way clothes carry a period. A reader who meets an unfamiliar name reaches for the language its ending suggests, and gets it wrong constantly, because American naming borrowed shapes rather than words: an ending that means something specific in Welsh or Italian or French was picked up for its look and attached to fronts from anywhere. The result is a large class of names that appear to declare an origin and do not have one. The honest way to read them is backwards, from the decade they appear in rather than from the language they resemble, and the decade is nearly always recoverable when the language is not.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source can be established. The name may be built on Arline or Arlene, may be a respelling of the surname Arliss, and may be neither. The Welsh-looking ending is the strongest clue on the page and it is a false one, which is worth saying plainly.
Pronouncing Arlys
AR-lis
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The y writes a short i, which is one of the several jobs English gives that letter, and the s is unvoiced.
Nicknames for Arlys
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1917
- Most girls named
- 193344 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1047reached in 1934
- Change vs 1963
- 0.0%5 in 1965, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Arlyss among us
people named Arlys are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Arlys sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short, firm and easy to say from the page.
- It is genuinely rare while containing no unfamiliar sound.
- The spelling is distinctive without being difficult.
- Arliss and Arlis are both in the record and spelling it out is permanent.
- The ending suggests a Welsh origin the name does not have.
- There is no meaning to give a child who asks.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Arlys to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Arlys? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Arlys
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Arlyss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Arlys are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Arlys in 2025?
- Arlys is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Arlys with classmates?
- Arlys will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More A names
The most-given names starting with A, all years combined.
Anna#107 · Ashley#164 · Amanda#493 · Amy#257 · Angela#408 · Alice#65 · Ann#1076 · Andrea#235
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Arlys? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Arlys and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle